Batman

It feels wrong because deep down you know that lying can only serve an illusion, something that is not the truth. Lying, or any other communication that misrepresents what is true for you, is wrong on an existential level because it conceptually disconnects you from the whole that you are already a part of. Absolute Truth is no separation while willful misrepresentation is based on separation. When you truly communicate to an other what is true for you, you are connecting. On a personal level, you lose your integrity. You will have to protect the misrepresentation you created, whether by holding the true from others or trying to reinforce and protect what is not true, probably by creating more misrepresentations. Of course, all of this activities are so much harder than just being honest from the get go. Also, deep down you will always live with some form of feeling that you hide something, or that you are going to get caught, or that you have been dishonest. This will take a toll on you, on many different levels. And also, if you can lie to others, you will probably lie to your self. If you want to truly become conscious and mature, you must be honest. Lying disconnects you from Consciousness, because it traps you inside the activity of a self or an ego that needs to lie in order to achieve some self-agenda. Even though it seems that misrepresentation may help you to avoid or to get some thing, in the end its not what YOU actually wanted. Only ego can tell lies and be dishonest, and when this is the case, the illusion solidifies. On the other hand, when you are being honest and truthful in opposite direction to your self-agenda and self-survival needs, your connection to Consciousness strengthens and so is your sense of integrity.

Because you don't. You obviously have not awakened yet. You still believe that you are the perception of body-mind. Become conscious of you are and than you'll also know who are those "other beings".

Impossible to share, but namely that only YOU exist.

Oh man, you are in for quite a surprise

The more you will face your subconscious and increase your consciousness, the more sensitive you will be to psychedelics. That is because psychedelics reduce the activity of the mind, including the subconscious. That is why if you do shadow work, meditation, contemplation, yoga, it will potentiate psychedelics. Also, deep trips will open the mind and allow to brain to be capable to operate on a different frequency. For example, after you do a few Ayahuasca ceremonies, it is highly likely that you will get DMT visuals and sphere-like experience of space on normal dose Psilocybin trips, and that the Psilocybin trips will be deeper than normal tripping on 1.5g-2g of mushrooms. The same goes for LSD. If you went full on ego death on Ayahuasca, 100-200 dose of LSD can send you there as well. It is just a lot easier to surrender to this after you have been through it once. In the end, it all depends on your mind. The more dense, complex and split the mind is (heavy thinking, heavy interpreting and conceptualizing, lots of subconscious material), the weaker/shallower the trip will be. And of course, there may by subjective physiological factors such as the body's ability to metabolize the substance, or the baseline sensitivity of the receptors to the substance.

It is impossible to expect what Ayahuasca will bring for you. It is extremely subjective and dependent upon the wiring of your mind, the content of your subconscious, your framework for reality, and much much more. If you feel that diving deep into the abyss of your psyche is what is right for you, than just do it. On a general note, you can expect an intensive and challenging, emotionally and physically, journey. You can also expect astonishing visuals, profound states of mind and sensitivity to environment, connections to others and nature, insights regarding your life and your existence. You should definitely expect to meet things that are unexpected, that will shock you to your core or blow your mind totally. It is even possible to connect with animal spirits, that somehow show you qualities or virtues that exist in you and unused by you. But don't try to predict the experience, or hope for something in particular. It just doesn't work that way. The trip will always give you exactly what you need for where you are in your process.

A belief is a conceptual replacement for some fact or truth. It is assuming something rather than becoming directly conscious of it. You can believe that you left the door unlocked, or you can go and check if that is the case. You can believe that reality is infinite, or you can become conscious of it. A belief is never true, by definition. It is a conceptual activity in the mind uses to fill something you are not conscious of. It is actually preferred to have no belief, because belief can block you from the openness that is needed for you to become truly conscious. For example, you may believe that you are incapable of creating an intimate relationship with a significant other. Therefore, you won't be open to experience such relationship, and that lack of openness will perpetuate the belief, making it more solid and real. The entire domain of beliefs is antithetical to the pursuit of truth.

If you have overthinking tendencies, or find your identity to reside in the mind, mindfuckery is almost inevitable. Sometimes you even need to go through it in order to "learn the lesson".

This. Self-confidense is a function of the conceptual self. In other words, it isn't real. Self-doubt and self-confidence only exist in relation to a self. Real "confidence" comes from being who you are, not from adopting self-views and manipulative behavior to achieve self-agenda.

If you think that asking members in the forum whether or not they have awakened will make of you a spiritual authority, you are deeply mistaken. I have no intention to play this foolish game of who is awakened or not. That is just another ego trap, which you have obviously fallen into. I hereby decline your suggestion.

There is no metric to asses degrees of awakening, let alone the use of the word God. Your entire post is pure dogma and intellectualization, like most posts in the forum. Look, only a mind would care about all this words, but in the end it is horseshit in relation to direct realization of the Absolute. This is only word, which can be a sound or some symbol on a blank paper. There is nothing special about it, unless you make it so. All words and sounds are completely meaningless, until you impose meaning on them. And to be more precise, the word God is actually rather tainted and stigmatized by religions all over the world. Most people use this word in the context of belief, not direct Truth. People view "God" as some object that is separate from the world. If you want to communicate and represent absolute Truth with a word, it is better to use Consciousness, Absolute, Infinity, Indistinct, Nothing, Unbounded. The word God is too loaded with ignorance, belief and dogma in our present culture. In the end, you should not give a rat's ass about all this words bullshit. This is just a waste of time. Nothing can represent the Absolute, so you may call it a colorful diarrhea for all I care.

If you are already creating a self-image for your self, what guarantee do you have that the new self-image will serve your needs as a human? A new self-image may or may not alter your experience of life, but it will not end the dynamics of being a specific self. When you are invested in creating a conceptual persona, you doom your self to a game of hiding and seeking. So, you can either change what you identify with, or become conscious that you are no one at all and completely drop the activity of having self image. Consider that self-image is totally conceptual, limiting, and not real. Without self-image, no manipulation or other activity is required to maintain or promote the adopted image. The tension that is created in the body due to self-contraction (which is necessary to maintain a self-image) will be eased. The expression of the body-mind will gradually become more and more honest. The experience of life will become more spontaneous, even effortless. Also, without self-image, self-doubt will also fall apart because there will be no self-view regarding your capabilities. Usually, the less dense the self-image is, the less self-agenda there is. The less self-agenda, the less pushing and pulling on experience will take place. Experience will be accepted for what it is, and there will be less and less seeking and chasing for better experience.

Distinction is a function of Consciousness. No distinction is ultimately true, because distinction is always relative. So anything that you consider to be "real", will only derive its realness from its relationship with what is considered to be "imaginary". For example, if you consider your experience of life to be "real", you only do so in relationship to something else which you relate it to as "imaginary", such as the dream state, or some fabricated scenario in the mind. Consider, that if your experience of life is the reference point for "realness", you should ask your self what is the basis for that assumption? how do you know that the distinction real and imaginary isn't created right now in what is ultimately not even a distinction? The only way to answer this is to become conscious of the absolute nature of existence. You propose that the definition for the distinction "Real" would be "Existing/happening beyond my limited perspective". But is there anything that exists beyond your experience? How would you know? Isn't "Anything that exists outside of my experience" is a distinction within your experience? Do you see the rub here? Contemplate what is the nature of distinction. When you become conscious of what the nature of existence is, you will see that there is no distinction between real and imaginary. It is all the same "stuff" - Absolutely Nothing, or "Consciousness" - which is neither real nor unreal. "The realness of reality is assumed, not inherent". - No one.

Depends how you define 'Psychedelic'. There is no doubt that it affects the mind and dramatically alters your experience. However, it isn't psychedelic in the sense that it usually does not provoke the mind framework for reality (who or what you are). It causes a positive emotional abundance which puts you in a state of emotional openness and freedom from social relations ("opens your heart"). For me, a high dose of MDMA can get "psychedelic" in the sense that all distinctions melt - including the sense of being a self - and love is felt towards everything.

You are explaining a perception (thinking) using other perception (neurons in the brain). This may be relevant on a scientific level, but not relevant to Consciousness work. Nothing is thinking. Thoughts appear, but no one is thinking them actually. Internal chatter is a function of being a self and creating polarities and narratives to manipulate perceptions and serve the self. If you watch the internal chatter, it usually comprises of: labelling objects in relation to the self; asserting characteristics or value to objects in relation to the self; planning a future for the self; self-criticizing; self-views; etc. So it is about creating internal stories that serve the conceptual self in some way. In other words, internal chatter is a side-effect of creating a self/other dichotomy in Consciousness. Observe your thoughts and see if thinking is all about the self or not.

The best thing to do regarding thought is do realize they are not real, and to not believe them. You can use them for practical matters and planning, but don't let them dictate your experience. A thought is never the truth (relative or absolute), and not even a good representation of it. Regarding Tolle - it isn't possible to forecast which practice will be best to help you with purifying the mind. The best thing to do is to try many of them and see what works for you the best. Usually, I would recommend the most direct method - sit and observe the thoughts. Then you can inquire: are thoughts real? what is the source of thought? who is observing the thoughts? why is there an internal chatter? Consider that suicidal thoughts are not real, are not yours, and do not reflect you. They are an outcome of the conditioning of the mind, as means to reach a better experience (whether by getting the attention of others or by ending life). This post does not serve as psychological advice. Suicidal tendencies can also be treated with psychotherapy, which should be considered as well.

Consider challenging your assumption that there is an experiencer. Also, why do you keep asserting that your experience is absolute truth? Experience is relative, changing, limited and a function of survival, so it obviously isn't absolute. You might say that the Absolute is the nature of experience, which means that it is the experience but also isn't. Experience, which is comprised of perception and mind, cannot "hold" the Absolute, because the Absolute has no limit or quality (it is "formless"). So even though the Absolute is no different from the experience you are having right now, it is also not the experience you are having right now. Also consider: if you assume that "other characters" in the dream state hold no dream-experience of their own, how does the mind is animating their perception of the "main" character and their responses to it, into the dream-world?

Contemplate more. Consider: - Is there an experiencer without and experience? A dreamer without a dream? - If nothing exists outside your mind, doesn't it mean that others are imaginary? If this is so, why assume that you are not imaginary? Take reference from the dream state. Is the "main" character of the dream, aka the form that the mind takes in order to participate in the dream, real or only believed the be real as long as the dream takes place? If the character that the mind assumes to partake in the dream is not real, and you are sleeping in your bed, who is perceiving the dream?

I think he is a member in the forum. Anyway, it is a good video. Every practice, be it meditation or contemplation, are human inventions. What ever is absolutely true regarding our reality, it is so prior to any invention or practice. This is why a truly good practice will eventually lead to the dissolution of itself. This is also why it is said that spirituality, eventually, is a thorn used to remove another thorn, but should be discarded and thrown away once the first thorn is removed. Meditation as a practice can be used for many purposes, of course. But if it becomes an attachment, it may become another egoic trap. This may raise the question why to do any practice at all, if no practice can lead to what is already so? Well, because our usual tendencies and preferences are about entangling our identity in activities (or "doings"), it is unlikely to become conscious that we are not any of them. The practice can steer us away from this predicament and enable us to disentangle our identity from anything - including the practice itself.

In a nutshell: aging is only real when time is real. Aging is a relative and conceptual observation of the change the occurs in life forms, over time. Time is no other than the measurement of change in conditions. Your "young self" can only exist in relation to your "old self" if you hold time to be real. Right now, the appearance of your self is what it is. It may only seem old if you hold in your mind that there some time where you were young. However, when you "were" young, did the condition that you regard as "young" appeared in the past? No, it appeared in the Now. Now, when you seem to appear old, it still is Now. If you would erase every memory you hold of your appearance, and look in the mirror, could you determine that you aged? No, because you would have no conceptual recollection of the perception of a "past" self, and so any comparison to a "past" self would not be possible. Any comparison between what appears Now and what appeared in the "past" can only exist when time is believed to be real. I'm sorry that this is not clear enough, the only way to this is to become conscious that time is a construct within the Now. We create this conceptual framework of time for our reality so we can survive. In other words, we create the illusion of time so we can have references for our current perceptions. It is an essential component in the survival of the human life form.

Well, beliefs are antithetical to the pursuit of any truth, by definition. They are merely conceptual replacement for being conscious of something. That is probably the first thing one should realize before diving into spiritual knowledge. When people adopt beliefs, they are literally going in the opposite direction of the truth. That is because the belief will block the openness that is needed in order to become conscious. So even if someone adopt a belief of "I am everyone", "Life is a Dream", or "Everything is my Self", it still wouldn't be the truth. It may create different states of mind, but it will not be Consciousness of the truth. It would be the same activity as holding the belief that one is the body-mind, or that reality is "real". As far as I recall, Leo has addressed this matter multiple times. Truth (or Consciousness) is beyond beliefs. There is no point in looking for Truth in the domain of conceptual activities. Which is what WokeBloke is missing, leading him to frustration and fortification in the belief that life is real.

If they are adopted as beliefs, maybe. But Leo encourages everyone to verify his communications, not believe in him. I never encountered Leo saying to take his word based on faith. Never. On the contrary, he asks us to experience what he shares for ourselves. If the nature of reality is realized, it affects the mind in a good way. Especially if the realization is deep. When it is grasped that the nature of human experience is illusion and imagination, the seriousness and heaviness we tend to impose on life is reduced. Awakening creates a new context for experience, which is usually a less solidified self. @WokeBloke I sense from your posts feelings of frustration, anger and confusion. I suggest you to consider either taking a step back from spirituality for a while, or to focus on authentic inquiry rather than participating in conceptual conflicts.

It depends why do you consume this specific entertainment. If you consume it for the sake of escaping feelings or other aspects of life, then become conscious of this addiction and let it go. If you do it for the sake of your enjoyment - why not do it? You can live a balanced life without forsaking activities that are mere pleasures, as long as you are not attached to them and don't find refuge in them. If you enjoy watching sports or circus shows, why stop it? Spiritual purification is more about becoming conscious of your unconsciousness, and then decide whether to let the unconscious activity go or not.

@Jodistrict Thank you for this, I really enjoy (in a sense) this music. The 'Sirenita Bobinsana' video visuals also reminds me in a weird way the experience of DMT/Ayahuasca.

Yep, you are the imagination that imagines this entire game of life. Congrats. I would consider how to assimilate the realization to your life. It is not easy to embody the Truth when most of the "others" are not living in accordance with it. It can also be tricky to be around other minds which are different from yours, who might even express hostility towards you, and still accept that you are imagining them as well.